Hanger bracket for bottle cartons



May 8, 1962 R. M. INMAN 3,033,377

HANGER BRACKET FOR BOTTLE CARTONS Filed July 28, 1958 L lr A /oINVENTOR.

44 l Hoef/er M. /NMAM WM FIG. 'Z

A from/Ex arent @dirne 3,033,377 Patented kl't/.iay 8, 1962 3,033,377HANGER BRACKET 'BTTLE CARTONE Robert M. lnman, 3689 lencoe St., Denver22, Coin. Filed July 28, 1h53, Ser. No. 751,463 1 ICiaim. (Qi. E11-.96)

This invention'relates `to means for 'the practical and convenientsupport of carton units of extensively-utilized, conventional type andhas as an object tovpro-vide a novel and improved bracket organizationparticularly applicable to such purpose.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket particularly adapted for the practical and convenientsupport of bottle cartons of conventional type.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket for bottle cartons that is adapted for installation inany feasible location and position of practical use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hanger bracket forbottle cartons that is adjustable between operative and inoperativedispositions of its carton-supporting elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket `for bottle cartons that is susceptible of production inany desired range of sizes and capacities.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket for bottle cartons that is characterized bycarton-engaging means of unique practical facility and advantage.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket for bottle cartons adapted to supportdetachably-associated cartons with security against tilting ordislocation thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket for bottle cartons that is susceptible of practicaldevelopment in a diversity of structural particularity.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedconstruction and operative correlation of elements constituting a hangerbracket for bottle cartons.

`A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedhanger bracket for bottle cartons that is simple and economical ofproduction, convenient of installation in any appropriate position ofuse, adjustable ybetween operative and inoperative positions, andpositive and eiicient in attainment of the ends for which designed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention ,consists inthe construction, arrangement, and operative combination of elements ashereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated by theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevation of a typical embodiment of the inventionas installed in position of practical use with certain of the associatedelements extended to supporting engagement with a conventional carton,'represented by broken lines, and corresponding `other such elementsretracted to inoperative position.

FIGURE 2 is a transverse section taken substantially on the indicatedline 2 2 of FIGURE 1 with an associated carton represented by brokenlines.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, detail view, on a relatively enlarged scale,iso-metrically illustrating a relatively pivotable, interlatchableassociation of elements advantageously employed in the organizationaccording to the preceding view.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, detail elevation of the lower .end of thepivotable member shown in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to the upper Vportion of FIGURE 3illustrating an alternative, relatively pivotable,

interlatchable association of Aelements within the contemplation of theinvention.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 illustrating yet anotherrelatively pivotable, interlatcha-ble association v of elementsadaptable vto use `in and with the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a front elevation, partially in section and with portionsbroken away to better illustrate structural relationships, of theportions of the improvement represented by FIGURES 5 and 6 asalternatively organized within the contemplation of the invention.

In the merchandising of bottled beverages it has become a very generalpractice to package and distribute the product in unit packs of sixbottles conveniently and compactly assembled in a carrier cartonprovided with an upwardly-projecting vertical web apertured for theaccommodation ofthe human hand. Such packs, despite their acceptance andmanifest utility, have certain disadvantages to the ultimate user. Aparticular problem presented by the conventional six-bottle unit pack isthat of practical and convenient storage of the unit duringanormally-extended period appropriate for consumption of its initialcharge. Quite commonly, individual bottles ofthe pack are successivelyand selectively removed for refrigeration or for use, and the emptybottles are ultimately returned to the unit package for exchange at someconvenient future time. There is hence occasion to store the carbons inposition of convenient access for the removal and replacement of theindividual bottles, during which storage period the carton may bevariously supplied lwith bott-les, either empty or charged, in -a numberless than its full capacity and in an yarrangement which will bevariable, unbalanced, and non-uniform. Appropriate and convenientstorage of the unit package represented lby the six-bottle cartonordinarily requires that the package rest at its base on a shelf orother horizontal surface where the package frequently occupies spacedesired for other purposes. A conventional unit package is not welladapted to be Suspended from ordinary hooks or to stack withconservation of space, since the unbalanced condition of the cartonsresulting from removal of individual bottles precludes a securedisposition and permanent attitude of the package in association withhooks of usual .type or in every possible stacked relation thereof.Designed to meet and to resolve the problem of conventional bottlecarton storage above discussed, the instant invention is directed to theprovision of a bracket hanger particularly adapted to securely positionand Support such cartons for convenient access in any appropriatelocation, all with facility of carton removal and replacement and withadvantageous conservation of space.

In the typical, simple embodiment of the invention represented byFIGURES l and 2, the numeral lil represents a straight, substantiallyrigid, elongated member of appropriate material and structuralparticularity adapted to engage with its length horizontal against andto be secured, as by means of vfasteners -11 engaged through upper endcorners of the member, to any vertically-disposed at surface, such asthe face of a wall 12. As illustrated, the member 10 is preferably andexpediently of channel form in transverse section and is formed 1withoutwardly-directed, surrounding flange -portions 13 fdelining a commonplane adapted to bear against the face of the supporting wall 12, fromwhich the channel portion of the member is laterally offset to projectfrom the associated Wall wherewith the anges 13 engage. Manifestly, themember lllmay be a solid strip, or `of other structural particularity,the essential characteristics of the member being those essential toprovide a rigid stripy member adapted to lie against and be secured inhorizontal disposition on a vertical supporting 4surface with the bodyyport-ion Vof themember projecting laterally from such surface betweenspacedly-parallel upper :and

lower edge margins 14 and 15 adapted to lie in horizontal planes whenthe member is mounted in its intended position of use. In the practicalembodiment according to FIGURE 1, opposite ends of the channel portionof the member are formed to merge convergently into the flange portions13 at the end of the unit, thus completing a sightly organization of themember adapted for expedient and economical production from metal,molded synthetic resins, and the like. In a length adapted to supporttwo carton unit packages in accordance with the principles of theinvention as will hereinafter appear, the member 10 conveniently spansthe sixteen inch standard spacing between the studding elements ofconventional frame construction, whereby to locate the fasteners 11intersecting upper corners of the member for secure attachment to suchstudding elements.

As represented by the broken line showing of FIGURES l and 2, the cartonprimary to the six-bottle unit package adapted to be supported by theimprovement of the instant invention is conventionally characterized bya compartmented, rectangular base portion 16 adapted to contain twoparallel rows of three bottles 17, and by a longitudinally-bisectingpanel 18 upstanding vertically between the two rows of bottles which isformed with an elongated opening 19 parallel to and inwardly adjacentits upper margin for the accommodation of a human hand whereby thepackage may be carried and manipulated. Conditioning the member 10 tofunction as a bracket for the support of conventional bottle cartons ofthe general type illustrated and described, said member is provided witha plurality of identical hook elements 2Q adapted to outstand inoperative relation perpendicularly from the plane of the anges 13engaging the face of the wall 12 in a paired and parallel relationshipappropriate for coaction with and adjacent theV ends of the opening 19of the carton construction in a manner to securely support the unitpackage. The hook elements 20 are desirably formed from cylindrical rodmaterial to present at one end a straight portion 21 of a lengthexceeding the transverse dimension of the member 10 between its paralleledges 14 and 15, and an angularlyrelated arm 22 extending from one endof and in approximately perpendicular relation with the portion 21 whichmerges at its other end with a hook 23, hereinafter more particularlydescribed. Each hook element 20 is operatively associated with themember 10 through engagement of its straight terminal portion 21 in andthrough registered holes formed for its reception transversely of thebody portion of said member, which holes, in the illustrated embodiment,intersect the parallel edges 14 f and of the channel portion of themember perpendicular to the length of the latter so as to pivotablyengage each hook element portion 21 transversely of and through themember in a vertical disposition when the member is mounted with itslength horizontal. Pivotably engaged with the member 10 as described,each hook element is disposed with its arm 22 at the upper side of themember 10 where, by virtue of its angular relation with its portion 21,it acts to limit displacement of the hook element relative to the saidmember in a downward direction and is mounted to swing in a horizontalarc between parallel relation with the adjacent member flange 13, as atthe right in FIGURE 1, and extension outwardly and perpendicularly fromthe plane of said flanges, as shown at the left of FIGURE 1. As abovenoted, the hook elements 20 are engaged with the member 10 in a pairedrelationship such as to space the hook elements of each pair apartlongitudinally of the member 10 a distance corresponding approximatelywith the length of the straight side margins of the opening 19characteristic of the bottle carton to be mounted thereon.

The hook 23 constituted from and terminating the free end of eachelement 20 is uniquely formed for secure support of a carton engagedtherewith by means of the hand-accommodating aperture 19 in therelationship represented by FIGURES 1 and 2. To realize the purposes ofthe invention, the arm 22 of each element 2t) extends from its junctionwith the associated portion 21 a distance somewhat exceeding the halfdimension of the carton base portion 16 perpendicular to the panel 18and is then bent upwardly at a slight outward inclination as a straightlength 24 coplanar with the portion 21 and arm 22. The upper limit ofthe length 24 is established, in a spacing from the arm 22 slightlyexceeding the transverse width of the aperture 19, as an arcuateinwardly-directed bend 25 which inclines toward and in overhangingrelation with the associated arm 22 and merges into a reverse curve 26below the crown of the bend 25 and inwardly of the arm 22 from itsjunction with the length 24, whence the material of the element 20 isdirected upwardly and slightly outwardly as a nger 27 terminating aboveand inwardly from the crown of the bend 25. Formed and proportioned asillustrated and described, the hook 23 is available, when the associatedelement 20 is extended perpendicular to the member 10 or the surfacesupporting said member, for engagement through and coaction with thecarton aperture 19 to securely support said carton on a pair of theso-equipped elements 20 in the association clearly shown by FIGURE 2. Apair of the elements 20 being swung to project in parallel relationoutwardly from the member 1t), the carton to be supported thereon ispresented with its panel 1S parallel to the member 10 in a manner toenter said elements 20 through the spaces between the bottles of thecarton and to permit the crown of the bend 2S of both hooks 23 to engageunder the upper margin of the panel aperture 19, whereby, through aslight and very natural tilting of the carton, the panel 18 is inducedto slip inwardly and downwardly over the bend 25 and inwardly past thejunction of the arm 22 and length 24 to engagrnent of its upper portionagainst the fingers 27 as a stop, in which tinal disposition the closedloop portion of each hook 23 projects through and adjacent each end ofthe aperture 19, the upper margin of said aperture is seated in or nearthe low point of the upwardly-opening curve 26, and the lower margin ofsaid aperture is engaged under a portion of the arm 22 adjacent the armjunction with the length 24, in which mounted disposition the cartonbase portion 16 engages at one long side with the face of the member 10and the carton, together with its charge, is supported and securely heldin a position of convenient access from which there is no tendency totilt or deviate as the number and disposition of the bottles associatedwith the carton are varied. As is fully apparent, removal andreplacement of the carton relative to the hooks 23 of each pair ofelements 20 is a simple and convenient operation requiring nomanipulation of elements other than adjustment of the elements 21B toparallel relation perpendicularly of the member 10, and it is furtherobvious that the elements 20 not in use to support an associated cartonmay be folded to lie out of the way parallel to the supporting wall 12,and that the organization may be extended through increase in the lengthof the member 10 and addition of paired elements 20 to accommodate asmany separate carton units as may be desired.

As represented by FIGURES l and 2 and hereinabove described, theportions 21 of the elements 20 are pivotably and separably associatedwith the member 10 to accommodate full and unrestricted swing of eachelement through a semi-circular arc. While the simple construction ofthe first embodiment is entirely practical, it may be desirable tosecure the portions 21 against separation from their pivotableassociation with the member 10 and to provide means for yieldablylatching each arm 22 in a disposition perpendicular to said member, allof which is feasible of attainment through one or another of theconstructions represented by FiGURES 3-7, inclusive. As shown in FIGURES3 and 4, the portion 21 of each element 20 may be of a length to projectbelow the lower margin of the member 10 a distance suicient to disposedan integral ear or lug 28 projecting radially rfrom and adjacent thefree end of the portion 21 in clearing relation below the member margin15 when the element is operatively associated with the member 10, and toprovide slot elongations 29 radially of each of the holes adapted topivotably seat a portion 21 in the side margins 14 and 15, whichelongations 29` accommodate insertion of the portion 21 with its lug orear 28 through the member edges 14 and 1'5 in an obvious manner. The earor lug 28 may be angularly related with the direction of the associatedarm 22 for rotation-limiting engagement of the ear or lug 28 against theadjacent member ange 13 when said arm 22 is perpendicular to the planeof the flanges 13, whereby to assist in adjustment of the elements 20`into operative relation with their supporting member.

In FIGURE 5, the arrangement according to FIGURES 1 and 2 is moderatelymodied through the provision of a semi-circular trough or channel 30leading perpendicular to the adjacent flange 13 from each of the holesfor accommodating of the element portion 21 intersecting the member edge14 to open through the outer margin of and upwardly from said edge in asize and disposition to seat the inner end of each arm 22 when thelatter is extended to operative position; it being fully apparent thateach hook element 20 will drop slightly to latching engagement with theassociated trough or channel 30, and that shift of the element 20 toinoperative position entails a slight lifting of the element in itsmounting on the member 10.

In FIGURE 6, an alternative arrangement for yieldable latching of eachelement 20 in operative position is represented as an abrupt, downwardbend or kink 31 formed in the arm 22 at a spacing from the associatedportion 21 such as to engage the olfset thereby provided over the freemargin of the member edge 14 when the associated arm is perpendicular tothe plane of the flange 13. The arrangement according to FIGURE 6 isoperatively very similar to that described in connection with FIGURE 5,and requires for shift of the arm to inoperative position a slightlifting of the arm assembly in its pivotable mounting.

Functionally analogous to the arrangements according to FIGURES 5 and 6,FIGURE 7 typiies the provision of rounded bosses 32 upstanding from themember edge 14 to dene therebetween a recess wherein the arm 22 may restwhen in perpendicular extension from the plane of the anges 13; it beingobvious that the so-disposed arm may ride upwardly on and over either ofthe bosses 32 when pressure is applied to swing the arm in its mountingaway from its operative position.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the form, constructionand arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, l wish to be understood asbeing limited solely by the scope of the appended claim, rather than byany details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

In a hanger bracket of the character described having a straight, rigid,elongated member of substantial thickness furnished with coplanar,laterallyand oppositelydirected flanges whereby it is adapted to besecured to a vertical surface with its length horizontal to disposespacedly-parallel, long edge margins thereof in perpendicular projectionfrom a surface, said member being formed with a series of like,spacedly-parallel holes opening transversely thereof through said longedge margins, and an L-shaped hook unit of rod material having a shorterleg exceeding in length the width of said member and a longer legterminating in an integral hoo-k element svvivelled by means of itsshorter leg in each of said holes to swing relative to said member abouta vertical axis for adjustment of its longer leg through a horizontalarc superjacent the member between perpendicularly-projecting andparallel-overlying relation therewith, means for detachably andinterchangeably coupling each said hook unit to said member and forsimultaneously limiting hook unit swing in one direction toperpendicular disposition of the hook unit longer leg relative to themember, said means comprising a radial slot extension of each of saidseries of holes opening transversely of the member, each said slotextension traversing the full length to the hole from which it radiates,and an integral ear reciprocable through said slot extension formed onand projecting radially from the free end of the hook unit shorter legfor exposure beneath the member operatively mounting the unit in anangular relation with the unit longer leg such as to engage adjacentflange areas of the member as a stop when said longer leg isperpendicular to said member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS190,497 Kelly May 8, 1877 568,905 Holmes Oct. 6, 1896 716,214 GagnonDec. 16, 1902 725,678 Cullum Apr. 21, =3 1,097,755 Goldsmith May 26,1914 1,179,286 Crimmel Apr. 11, 1916 1,518,824 Smith Dec. 9, 19241,682,855 Rose Sept. 4, 1928 2,059,445 Eastman Nov. 3, 1936 2,085,969Gedeonoff July 6, 1937 2,259,663 Rosenthal Oct. 21, 1941 2,369,978Papalexis Feb. 20, 1945 2,409,152 Rundell Oct. 8, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS14,866 Switzerland Nov. 10, 1897

